The study from the ESRI and KBC Bank published today which highlights the growing urban-rural divide in terms of the economic recovery confirms what I and others have been highlighting on an ongoing basis. It is about time that the Government woke up and made realistic proposals to address the problems facing rural areas. It is essential that the defecit in terms of poor broadband, poor transport facilities, a lack of an employment strategy and the lack of incentives with regard to rates and other issues for small businesses should be addressed immediately if the urban-rural divide is not to grow even wider.
Dublin continues to power ahead and it is inevitable that situation will mean that more and more people will be attracted to the capital and that will bring it’s own problems in terms of traffic problems, increased property prices and overcrowding generally. Sadly the Government seems to be sleepwalking through all this and are happy to allow this imbalance to persist. This is a further wake up call for the Government and I and other rural TD’s will be continue to highlight the situation wherby rural Ireland is falling further and further behind the Dublin area. What we need is a realistic plan to revive rural Ireland. People who live outside Dublin paid just a high a price for the economic crash and they deserve to share equally in any economic recovery.